Mark Smeaton's surname is thought to be of Flemish-French Flemish origin, as 'Smeaton' could be a derivation of either de Smet or de Smedt.
17 Facts About Mark Smeaton
1.
2.
Mark Smeaton's unhappiness was said to have caught Queen Anne's attention one day in her chamber at Winchester, when she sent for him to play the virginals.
3.
Those arrested for alleged adultery with Anne as a result of Mark Smeaton's confession were Sir Francis Weston, Henry Norris, William Brereton, and her brother, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford.
4.
All but Mark Smeaton maintained their innocence, but none of them was tortured as Mark Smeaton was.
5.
Out of all those arrested for adultery, Mark Smeaton's arrest caused the greatest scandal, because those who knew of the charges were shocked that the Queen would have an affair with a person of such low degree.
6.
Strickland maintained that Mark Smeaton was lured into signing the incriminating deposition by the subtlety of Sir William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton.
7.
The evidence against Mark Smeaton rested on his expenditure and the one reported conversation.
8.
Mark Smeaton's trial took place at Westminster Hall, but it was generally believed there was no question of his guilt.
9.
On news that Mark Smeaton was now clapped in irons, Queen Anne replied dismissively, "he was a person of mean birth and the others were all gentlemen".
10.
Mark Smeaton's body was buried in a common grave with one of the other accused adulterers, William Brereton.
11.
However, Elizabeth's resemblance to Henry was so obvious that Mary had little luck in convincing anyone else, and the accusation that Mark Smeaton was Elizabeth's father died with Mary.
12.
Mark Smeaton was portrayed by Gary Bond in the 1969 costume dramatic film Anne of the Thousand Days.
13.
The torture of Mark Smeaton is shown in the film in a more explicit fashion than the miniseries.
14.
The character of Mark Smeaton appeared in the second season of Showtime's The Tudors and was portrayed by David Alpay.
15.
Mark Smeaton is fleshed out as a character in the novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, and the TV miniseries adaptation Wolf Hall, in which he is portrayed by Max Fowler.
16.
Mark Smeaton appears in Gaetano Donizetti's opera Anna Bolena, in which the character is a trouser role assigned to a contralto.
17.
Mark Smeaton was portrayed by Nitai Levi in Michael Poulton's 2024 stage adaptation of the Philippa Gregory Novel "The Other Boleyn Girl", directed by Lucy Bailey for the Chichester Festival Theatre.